Przybysław/Pribislav of Pomerania

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Known in sources as: Pribisclavus, Pribizlavus. Prince in the years 1160-1179

Przybysław was a son of Niklot and brother of Warcisław and Przesław. Around the year 1145, he married Wojsława – a woman from the Pomeranian dynasty of Griffites. Their son, Borzywoj-Heinrich married Matilda, daughter of Heinrich the Lion.

Przybysław was born as a pagan but he was baptized with his brother Warcisław sometime before 1163. He is considered the first ruler of Meklemburg (Germanised from Weligrad) as he rapidly transformed the crumbled country of his father into another March. He forced the feudal system on the Slavonic people who practiced their tribal form of democracy and violently pushed them into Christianity and Germanisation, which was in fact the real purpose behind Christianisation.

After the heroic death of their father in the Battle of Orle, Warcisław and Przybysław burned the stronghold they couldn’t hold as Niklot did with so many before. However, they continued guerilla type warfare for a year. Because occupation was treated seriously, and because they understood that they could not achieve anything more, they decided to surrender to Heinrich and become his tributaries. They received territories on the borders with Pomerania, and maybe as some kind of meaningful gesture, the Orle stronghold. In the years 1162-1163, they waged an attack on the Saxons and reconquered most of former Weligrad, but sadly not for long. Ironically, the pushed-back Warcisław was hiding in Orle but his brother came too late to rescue him, just like the Pomeranian fleet came too late when Niklot made his final charge.

After that, Warcisław was taken into captivity and Heinrich gave those lands under the rule of his ally Lubomir – brother of Niklot.

Przybysław still controlled some territories which were his economic and military support. He decided that he must blackmail his opponents with constant aggression in order to save his younger brother. In 1164, he conquered and burned down the now totally Germanised Mechlin and he threw out the German settlers from Iłowo and Mechlin. After that, he overtook the main stronghold of the Morzyci tribe – Malechów.

Slavic strongholds were known for being impossible to siege successfully without giant machinery like trebuchets or help from inside. Heinrich attacked the Malechów stronghold, and, frustrated by his failed siege, ordered that Warcisław be hanged under the defense lines. He also sent to Denmark for help and, together with Waldemar I, attacked another stronghold – Dymin. Przybysław came after them to defend Dymin and he wasn’t alone. Two brothers, Bogusław I and Kazimierz (Casimir) I, the princes of Pomerania, attacked their favorite enemies – the Danes and joined their forces with Przybysław. The united Slavonic forces lost Dymin, but they managed to kill Adolf II, the nemesis of Warcisław and Przybysław Niklotowic’s father. The Danish fleet blocked the Odra river entrance. The Pomeranians focused on securing their borders and in their country, Przybysław found a safe refuge. Now, there was a bit of a confusing situation concerning the distribution of lands between the rulers.

According to the man criticized by historians for his unreliable claims, Saxo Grammaticus, Heinrich separated those territories between Lubomir, the Danes, the youngest of the sons of Niklot, Przesław, and even prince Ciesław of the Pomeranian Ruyani tribe, who was supposed to be a Danish tributary. This doesn’t make sense because he became a tributary in 1168, almost five years later. In fact, territories Grammaticus mentions were all at the time owned by the continental part of the Ruyani tribe. There are a few reasons for this whole controversy and why the situation is described differently by different historians. There are actual reasons to assume that since the early XII century (aprox.1120), the whole eastern region of Weligrad was controlled by Pomeranians. That would explain a lot, such as the military aid the Pomeranians were constantly giving to the Obodrites throughout the century and how a prince in exile, Przybysław, was able to come back to Dymin after three years and launch an attack on the Saxons again. He got as far as Raciborz and Swarzyn gaining practically the whole original Obodritic territories plus the tribes of Warnowie, Chyżanie, Morzycy and Czrezpienianie. This amazing and surprising victory could not be possible without a strong basis of the Pomeranian army. He practically recreated Weligrad, or maybe we should say, created a new one, with capital in Roztok. And? He made peace and alliance with Heinrich the Lion. Success seemed to be absolute.

The problem was that the country was totally devastated by these notorious wars in such a short period of time. People were dying of hunger or selling themselves to slavery just to survive. Those who were escaping to the neighboring countries, mostly Denmark and Pomerania, where those homeless wanderers were taken into slavery and sold mostly to Czechia, Poland, and Saxon regions.

Giant parts of Weligrad became totally empty.

Przybysław had no nation to rule so he let Saxons move in. The country became rapidly Christianized and Germanised. The last remaining independent groups of the Obodrites who kept their identity were actually… pirates – the Chąśnicy, called by the Scandinavians Vinda Frelsi, Free Slavonics. They were a serious military power and successfully plundered Denmark till the end of XII century. Their activity on a bigger scale started in fact in the moment of Germanisation of Weligrad. In 1168, Vinda Frelsi (probably a combination of Obodrites and Pomeranians), made a massive attack on Denmark. The number of slaves they got from it was surprisingly big for those times. After just this one raid, 700 Danes were sold at the slave market in Mechlin only (which was probably rebuilt). Because Przybysław had helped Danes in their attack on Ruyana Island we know that he was fighting against Slavic pirates, so the Obodritic ones had to be independent. He helped destroy Arkona, the main sanctuary of Pomeranians, which was also a place where a big part of slaves and gold was kept as the share of Svetovid – the God of war.

In 1171, the Danes attacked and killed all the men in a pirate base which is suspected by archeologists to have been the one that is now called Behren-Lubchin. It was a very impressive structure, including a 320m (!) long bridge and special platforms that were used for breaking the ice around the stronghold in winter. Saxo Grammaticus indeed accents that the fight on that bridge was very hard and dramatic. It was originally built by the Czrezpienian tribe somewhere at the end of Xth century.

In the same year, Wojsława, the beloved wife of Przybysław, died giving birth to his second son (name unknown). Probably because of that, the depressed prince went to the Holy Land with Heinrich – there were no possible political reasons for that act. Przybysław died in 1179 in Luneburg during a knight tournament he was fighting in. His son Borzywoj inherited the western part of the country, while the eastern part was ruled by Niklot II – son of Warcisław.

The house of Mecklenburg continued to exist as a German noble family with a ducal rang.

It’s descendants ruled over Mecklenburg 1167-1918, Werle 1235-1436, Sweden 1364-1389 and Netherlands 1948-1980 via Queen Juliana of the Netherlands.

Big thanks to Marek Kalisinski for letting us use his photographies.

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